With any of these options, Ray recommends a first flush device that diverts early polluted runoff from the tank and a sophisticated pump linked to an irrigation timer that moves water to sprinkler or drip systems.

Bill Toone’s do-it-yourself system utilizes above- and below-ground tanks. The exposed tank just steps from the front door was deliberately sited to provoke questions from passers-by.

“I want people to see it and ask me about it,” says Toone, who is part of a collaborative effort to install a demonstration rainwater collection system at the Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College in El Cajon.

His 4-foot-tall tank cost about $750 and holds 1,100 gallons. Rainwater from a downspout drops into an underground basin where a sump pump (about $150) sends it through pipes to the tank about 15 feet away.

Two more tanks, 1,000-gallon hot water holding tanks salvaged from a nearby condo project, are underground in the rear of the property. A Grundfos on-demand pump (about $340) brings the water through a hose with the same pressure as city tap water.

Rainwater collection, To one believes, shouldn’t be difficult or onerous. He and his wife, Sunni Black, water thirsty avocado trees, a kitchen garden with dozens of heirloom tomato plants and patch of lawn (browning in summer’s heat) that feeds their three pet tortoises.

“It’s all about balance,” he says. “The big challenge of conservation today is showing people they don’t have to give up their quality of life to do the right thing. I think you do smart things and the quality of life you want will be maintained.”

The good earth

In addition to collecting rain, Toone made changes to stop runoff from his property.

Early on, he demolished the concrete circular driveway that sped rain from his sloped front yard to a storm drain. Then he leveled the yard with fill from a neighbor’s swimming pool excavation and built a retaining wall at the front edge of the lot to hold the soil in place.

A colorful drought-tolerant garden tops the flat ground. Verbenas, sages, lavenders and other plants are circled with rimmed “water bowls” that hold water so it can seep into the soil.

These bowl are a mini-version of earthworks or “rain gardens,” man-made, kidney-shaped depressions 1 foot deep and up to 10 feet long in a flat or gently sloped landscape that slow and capture runoff. Brad Lancaster calls them “sponges” and touts them as the simplest way to collect rainwater. “All you need is a shovel,” he says.

Detailed instructions, including those for earthworks for steeper terrain, can be found in the second of Lancaster’s books on rainwater collection and on the Internet by Googling “rain gardens.”

Downspouts and overflow pipes from rain barrels and tanks can be directed to earthworks, says Lancaster, who recommends locating them at least 10 feet from a home to prevent water damage. He also advises lining the earthworks with 4 inches of mulch and landscaping them with natives attuned to natural rain cycles.

“They can be beautiful as well as practical,” he says. “After all, soil is the largest and least expensive storage tank.”

Mary James is a freelance garden writer based in La Mesa. She also is executive editor of California Garden, the 100-year-old magazine of the San Diego Floral Association.